The Electronic Frontier Foundation Letter [Mock]

Dear James,

The FBI wants access to your communications, and they’re nearly there. Amendments to Rule 41, just approved by congress, mean that they will have the precedent to hack any phone, computer, or network without leaving their desk. In fact, they don’t even need to communicate with your local jurisdiction at all; they just need a warrant from any US judge.

The legislation targets anybody using anonymising software. The same anonymising software that is used by activists, journalists and marginalized people all over the world. The software that provides the only escape from the blanket mass surveillance that was revealed by Edward Snowden.

We have fought vigilantly to protect this software. We have even collaborated with the creators of the Tor browser, one of the main targets of this legislation. With their help, we created HTTPS Everywhere, an extension that has helped millions of people keep their private data private – not just from the government, but from ad agencies, malicious hackers and more. Now the government seeks to undo our progress and target the very users we are trying to protect. Because of the broad nature of this ratification, its reach could extend even further: if you deny an app access to location data on your phone, change your country on Twitter, even if you are infected with malware without your knowledge.

Thanks to your contributions, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has had a busy year. We have fought hundreds of legal cases, pushing back against the NSA and GCHQ for their illegal surveillance programs.

We helped Apple to fight the FBI’s request for a backdoor that would allow them into every single iPhone. We protected Damian Patrick when the Milwaukee Police Department illegally hacked his phone, using their power every to deny access to this evidence to the courts, defense, and even Patrick himself. We’re helping Kerron Andrews, Aaron Graham and countless others that are facing the same issue. We’re campaigning to stop Brazil and Pakistan’s draconian cyber security bills, protect domain privacy, support the PATENT act, to stop Verizon’s web hijacking. None of this would have been possible without donations from people like you.

Now we have another battle to fight. We want to stop Rule 41 in its tracks, before it’s too late, and we don’t have much time. We’re encouraging you to write to your representatives, while we will be fighting on the legal front. Unfortunately, the process is expensive, and your donations are more important now than ever before. We’re hoping that you will go the extra mile and pledge further support in the interest of protecting free speech everywhere. You can donate any amount, once, monthly or annually, using the QR code below or the included form.